Halo 3
"Finish the fight." : - Halo 3 tagline ''Halo 3 ''is a first-person shooter science fiction video game developed by Bungie Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360. However, due to the Xbox One's lack of backwards compatibility, it can not be played on its successor console. It is the third and last game in the main trilogy, and the sequel to Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2. Halo 3 ''was released on September 25, 2007. Its existence was due to the massive success of its two predecessors, a success it finalized with its release, eclipsing both of the previous games. Like the games before it, ''Halo 3 ''saw massive financial success, with $300 million dollars grossed within the first week of its release, and by January 3, 2008, it had sold 8.1 million copies. In the United States, it became the best-selling video game of that era. According to Bungie, as of March 2012, ''Halo 3, collectively with Halo 3 ODST, more than 11.5 billion games had been played. On November 9, 2014, Halo 3 ''would be released within ''Halo: The Master Chief Collection for Xbox One. Nothing changed for the game, aside from upgraded specs, including the game running at sixty frames per second and 1080 pixel resolution. Story Plot Halo 3's campaign is a step down in terms of the vast story-telling of Halo 2, and takes a much more linear approach like Halo: Combat Evolved, but still with that broad storytelling aspect. It is far more melancholic compared to Halo: Combat Evolved, and far more militaristic than the previous games. Again, like Halo 2, Halo 3 ''takes the player to far more locations than its predecessor, leaving the boundaries of the Halo rings, while also revisiting Earth (for a much longer time span than ''Halo 2, it can be noted). Halo 3 ''takes place directly after the events of ''Halo 2. John-117, last seen on Truth's dreadnought at the ending of Halo 2, is seen hurling through the atmosphere above Mount Kilimanjaro, in the East African Protectorate. Detaching from the dreadnought, John-117 jumps out and lands on the ground like an asteroid, landing in the midst of an African jungle. Later, a squad of marines led by Sergeant Johnson locate him, but come to the conclusion that he could not have survived the impact. Just as he recovers Cortana's chip, John-117 wakes up, grabs Johnson, and firmly states that he will not be left behind. When asked where Cortana is, he says "she stayed behind," referencing to her presence on High Charity. After going through a basic tutorial, the Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, deactivates his active camouflage, only to be tackled by John-117 with a magnum. Johnson manages to seperate them, telling John that he is an ally. After being given an assault rifle, John-117 accompanies the marine squad and Thel 'Vadam to an extraction zone. However, the Covenant Loyalists are found to have the region secured, with forces patrolling the area, stopping them leaving. Seperating, Johnson takes a squad of marines in a different direction, while John-117, Thel 'Vadam and another group of marines head in another. Along the way, they are forced to engage numerous Covenant forces. Reaching a river, they are about to extract when a squadron of Banshees arrive and shoot down both of the evac Pelicans. John-117 and Thel 'Vadam proceed to the crash site, where they then follow Johnson and the surviving marines to a hydro-electric dam. There, they find Johnson and his marines captured and being used as bait for a trap meant to lure in Thel 'Vadam and John-117. After an assault on the dam, they rescue Johnson and evac on Kilo 023. The Pelican arrives at Crow's Nest, a UNSC firebase used during the First Battle of Earth and now during the Second Battle of Earth. Landing, John-117 shakes hands with Miranda, before being taken to the operations center, to discuss their plan of attack in terms of stopping the Prophet of Truth from finding the Ark and activating it. Just as they discuss their plan with Lord Hood, their base loses power, only for Truth to appear on the screen, mocking them. After he is done, John-117 surmises that the address was the opening of a Covenant assault. Miranda, feeling the same thing, orders the base to be put on full alert. Proven right, Covenant Loyalists attack the base in full force. Despite valiant defense efforts, the arrival of a CCS-Class Battlecruiser renders the defense moot, and Miranda orders an evacuation, bringing back John-117 to the Ops Center to see the bomb she has armed. He then goes to the barracks to save some marines from the Brutes, before taking them to the landing pad for evac, where Thel 'Vadam then leaves with them. Johnson appears to inform them that the Brutes overwhelmed the Ops Center, and deactivated the bomb. John-117 retakes the Ops Center and rearms the bomb, before escaping at the last minute as the bomb detonates, destroying Crow's Nest and killing all the Covenant forces within. Waking up after, John-117 finds himself alive at the bottom of the elevator shaft, and hurriedly rallies surviving marine forces in a charge down Tsavo Highway, towards the town of Voi. They push through the Loyalist forces littered along the Highway, smashing through them while observing Truth's fleet uncovering the Ark in the background, where the ruins of both Mombasas used to be. Eventually, they reach the entrance to Voi, just as Miranda arrives with fresh reinforcements. John-117 and the reinforcements arrive within Voi, where they can see the Storm getting more intense above the Ark. They immediately launch their assault, breaking through the Covenant forces and eliminating an AA Wraith. They continue their push into the far side of the old coast, taking out two more AA Wraiths. Shortly afterwards, a Scarab appears and attacks the marine forces. John-117 manages to board and destroy it, before meeting up with Thel 'Vadam and pushing over to the far side, where they proceed to overrun the Covenant forces defending a Mantis AA gun, and destroy it. After doing so, they watch as three Charon-Class Light Frigates fly by with a flight of Longsword fighters, launching a mass assault on Truth's dreadnought. They are unable to stop Truth however, and he activates the Ark, which sends out an EMP wave that disables all three frigates and the fighters around it. Later, John-117 and Thel 'Vadam get up to find that the artifact actually wasn't the Ark itself, but merely a portal to it. Truth's dreadnought flies up into the portal, followed by the rest of Truth's fleet. Surprised, Hood demands answers, Miranda is confused and Thel 'Vadam roars his fury at watching Truth escape. However, their moment is ruined when a CCS-Class Battlecruiser, the Indulgence of Conviction, exits slipspace, heading towards Voi. They watch as it flies past, John-117 taking note that green gas seems to be pouring out of it, confirming that the ship is infected by the Flood. The ship crashes into Voi, unleashing its Flood cargo. Fleet of RetributionJohn-117 and Thel 'Vadam, with the Flood spreading rapidly, move quickly in an attempt to destroy the ship core and stem the Flood infection. However, not long after they begin battling the Flood forces, the separatist Fleet of Retribution, led by the flagship, a CAS-Class Assault Carrier Shadow of Intent, arrives over the town, deploying Separatist forces to help kill the spread. Fighting alongside the Elites, they manage to reach the wreckage of the Indulgence. They are contacted by Johnson, who tells them that the Elites think Cortana lies within the ship, as it came from High Charity. Still, John-117 goes within the wreckage and finds Cortana, but discovers it is only a message. 343 Guilty Spark arrives, trying to help, but John-117 is mistrustful. He eventually allows Spark to take the message, while boarding a separatist Phantom. They leave Voi and board the Shadow of Intent just as the Fleet of Retribution glasses Voi, putting a stop to the brief Flood outbreak. Rtas 'Vadum, now Fleet Master of the Fleet of Retribution and commander of the Shadow of Intent, speaks with Hood, Miranda, John-117, 343 Guilty Spark and Thel 'Vadam, who all listen to Cortana's message, which reveals that there is a way to stop the Flood permanently without activating the Halo rings, and that it lies on the Ark. However, she also reveals that High Charity, consumed by the Flood, is now on its way to Earth. Rtas swears to follow Truth and put an end to him, while Hood remains adamant on defending Earth. Rtas tries to convince him of the futility of this, especially with a Flood army bearing down on them, but Hood remains persistent. John-117 states that he believes Cortana has a solution to stop the Flood, and they must take the risk. Finally, Hood gives in, and gives Miranda the [[UNSC Forward Unto Dawn|UNSC Forward Unto Dawn]] and [[UNSC Aegis Fate|UNSC Aegis Fate]]. Shortly after, he departs to remain on Earth, while both frigates and the Fleet of Retribution go through the portal. The Fleet of Retribution quickly exits the portal over the Ark, where Truth's fleet is already waiting. Rtas 'Vadum orders his fleet to immediately engage Truth's fleet, while the Forward Unto Dawn ''deploys a flight of Pelicans to the surface, with John-117 onboard. Deploying, they quickly clear out the Loyalist forces in the area, allowing the ''Dawn ''to fully land on the surface, deploying an armoured regiment of Scorpion tanks. They, assisted by the Ark's sentinels, punch a hole through the Loyalist defenses surrounding the Silent Cartographer, even destroying another Scarab. Getting inside, Rtas proudly announces the destruction of Truth's fleet. Once inside, they quickly acertain the Ark's location, which is apparently outside the known galaxy, inside intergalactic space. They also discover the location of the Ark's Control Room, the Citadel, which is surrounded by three barrier towers. They immediately extract, moving towards the Citadel with all speed, hoping to catch Truth before he activates the Ark. A flight of UNSC Pelicans and Separatist Phantoms launches an assault on the Loyalist forces protecting the three barrier towers, with John-117 managing to disable the first one, and Thel 'Vadam and his Elites the second. Johnson however falls out of contact, so John-117 and Thel 'Vadam's forces combine to assault the third and final tower. With Johnson nowhere to be found, they simply disable the third tower. With the barrier down, the Rtas takes his flagship to launch his assault, but at the last moment, High Charity exits the portal, immediately deploying dispersal pods, before crashing into the Ark in the distance. After fighting back the Flood, 343 Guilty Spark boards a phantom to attempt to find out how the Flood located the Ark. John-117, in the meantime, leads an armoured convoy in an assault on the Citadel, managing to smash the remnants of the Loyalist forces, and two Scarabs. With the Loyalist broken and beaten, John-117 and Thel 'Vadam, aided by Guilty Spark, enter the Citadel to put an end to Truth. However, they discover that Truth has Johnson, and Miranda quickly attempts to rescue him by crashing a Pelican into the Citadel. However, Truth simply kills her, using Johnson to begin the activation process of the Halo rings. John-117 and Thel 'Vadam arrive and, in a temporary alliance with the Flood, fight alongside the Gravemind's combat forms as they kill of the remainder of the Loyalist troops to reach Truth. Finally done, Thel 'Vadam kills Truth, who is half-infected by the Flood, and John-117 stops the Ark from activating. Johnson manages to escape, but the Gravemind intervenes, and John-117 and Thel 'Vadam, aided by Sentinels, quickly escape through fighting swarms of Flood. Arriving outside, John-117 uncovers a secret: the Ark is a Halo factory, and the replacement for Alpha Halo unveils itself, incomplete and vulnerable. 343 Guilty Spark reveals he knew about it, and asks what they'll do. John-117 says they will activate it, and says the secret lies with Cortana. Taking a Banshee, John-117 heads into the ruins of High Charity, fighting through the Flood-infested city to reach her, while the Gravemind taunts him the entire time. Finally, he rescues Cortana, before setting High Charity's reactor into meltdown. With the timely arrival of Thel 'Vadam to assist, they take a crashed Pelican and escape High Charity just its reactor detonates, destroying High Charity. Rtas 'Vadum takes his fleet and the UNSC ''Aegis Fate ''back through the portal, while Johnson takes the UNSC ''Forward Unto Dawn ''and parks it near the new Alpha Halo's Control Room. Meanwhile, John-117 and Thel 'Vadam crash their Pelican and proceed on foot to the Control Room. Fighting through Flood forces with the aid of more sentinels, they reach the Control Room the same time as Johnson does, and enter, with 343 Guilty Spark's help. However, when Johnson reveals their deliberate intent to destroy Alpha Halo and the Ark, 343 Guilty Spark betrays them once again, mortally wounding Johnson with his eye laser. Trapping Thel 'Vadam outside, John-117 is forced to fight Spark alone, but quickly equips Johnson's Spartan Laser, using it to damage and, eventually, kill Spark. With Spark dead, John-117 tries to save Johnson, but he dies, giving him Cortana. Cortana activates Alpha Halo, and the resulting activation causes the ring to begin tearing itself apart. With Thel 'Vadam, they fight their way through the remaining hordes of Flood and squadrons of Sentinels, reaching Johnson's Warthog. After escaping with the vehicle, they manage to escape on the ''Dawn just as Alpha Halo explodes, presumably taking the Ark with it. Afterwards, Hood holds a memorial service on Earth, one Thel 'Vadam is present for. It reveals that the portal collapsed due to the explosion from Alpha Halo just as the Dawn ''was going through it, causing the ship to be cut in half. Thel 'Vadam's half crashed in an unknown ocean, where he was then recovered by UNSC rescue crews. John-117's half was trapped with the Ark, and presumed dead. Thel 'Vadam, after shaking hands with Hood, departs on his phantom for the Shadow of Intent. Soon after, they depart for the Elite homeworld, Sanghelios. In a cutscene shown after the credits, we see the other half of the ''Dawn ''floating through space, showing that John-117 is in fact alive. He then enters cryo sleep, stating that Cortana wake him when she "needs him." The game then ends. In the Legendary ending, an extra few seconds afterward show the ''Dawn ''heading towards a previously unnamed planet, confirmed to be a Forerunner Shield World named Requiem in ''Halo 4. Campaign On average, player will take 9 hours and 4 minutes long, and 14 hours and 30 minutes long if played leisurely to complete Halo 3's campaign mode. In the game, there are a total of ten levels, and, unlike Halo 2, does not have symbiotic coupling missions (unless you count The Storm and Floodgate) and the player can no longer play as Thel 'Vadam, unless as a second player. The game goes back to the single perspective of John-117, and remains that way for the whole game. In the campaign, a new feature is added that makes it so that the player, while playing Co-Operative campaign, each player is a different character. The first player is John-117, the second can take control of Thel 'Vadam (in solo campaign, he has AI coded to his character), the third and fourth take control of custom made characters only present when a third and fourth character is present, a SpecOps Elite called N'tho 'Sraom, and a Fleet Security officer called Usze 'Taham. Like previous games, the cutscenes are rendered using the in-game graphics engine. The ten levels of the game: *Arrival : "Brace for impact." *Sierra 117 : "Rise up. Start the fight." *Crow's Nest : "Clear the base, whatever it takes." *Tsavo Highway : "Mount up. Get to Voi." *The Storm : "Reclaim the city. Make a hole." *Floodgate : "Stop the infestation. Find Cortana." *The Ark : "Search the waste for the Cartographer." *The Covenant : "Breach the barrier. Stop Truth." *Cortana : "Cleanse High Charity. Save Cortana." *Halo : "Light the ring. Destroy the Flood." Characters Major Characters UNSC *John-117 *Cortana *Avery Johnson *Miranda Keyes *Fleet Admiral Hood Swords of Sanghelios *Thel 'Vadam *Rtas 'Vadum *N'tho 'Sraom *Usze 'Taham Covenant Loyalists *High Prophet of Truth Forerunner *343 Guilty Spark Flood *Gravemind Minor Characters UNSC *Lieutenant "Hocus" *Gunnery Sergeant Reynolds *Marcus Stacker *Chips Dubbo *Marcus Banks *ONI Recon 111 Swords of Sanghelios *Shadow of Intent's Navigation Officer Covenant Loyalists *Unnamed Brute Chieftain Features Summary Halo 2 ''changed alot from ''Halo: Combat Evolved ''because of how it regarded its cutscenes, charging them with more significance than its predecessor did. ''Halo 3 ''expands upon this with much broader cutscenes, preferring to conclude levels or story subplots solely using cutscenes, while keeping gameplay strictly gameplay, with the odd story purpose inbetween. This is different to ''Halo: Combat Evolved, who's cutscenes were clipped and brief, while Halo 2's were long and meaningful. *'Storyline Execution': Halo 3 is much more militaristic than its predecessors, and this is heavily reflected in its storyline, pace and soundtrack. The soundtrack utilizes drumbeats alot more often, and the gameplay's pace is just like that of a war game of its type. The storyline is very much based on warfare, with the attack on Crow's Nest, siege of Voi, naval battle over the Ark and the last stand at the Citadel being prime examples of this. This shows just how much the Halo ''franchise has matured from being a simple shoot 'em up to a much broader game. *'Vehicular Incorporation': ''Halo 3 ''has alot more new vehicles than both its predecessors, but overall, the vehicle system remains unchanged. The character will still enter a third-person view when entering vehicles, and most of them, for the most part, operate similiarly to previous games, and the new ones are easy to control. *'Weapon System': Largely unchanged. The game still can only equip two weapons at a time, and the grenades are mapped to a different button. The only difference is the much wider variety of weapons, especially with grenades; where in the past, each side had one type of grenade, the Covenant now have three types. The ability to dual-wield as returned, although this has been limited with the Needler, as it was considered too overpowered in ''Halo 2 ''when dual-wielded, even with other weapons. However, there are now more weapons to dual-wield as well. There is also the added addition of equipment abilities as well. *'Artificial Intelligence': AI remains largely the same, with carried over abilities from both ''Halo: Combat Evolved ''and ''Halo 2. ''However, due to complaints about their AI in ''Halo 2, the Brutes are no longer as durable as they were, and can be taken down quite easily. They also still possess a berserk mode, but it is nowhere near as rapid and 'overpowered' as it was in Halo 2. ''However, specific types of AI can still perform hijacking, as can the player, as well as other abilities they had in ''Halo 2. Movement in Halo 3 ''is relatively simple, and the same as every other shooter of its time period. The player can move backwards and forwards, left and right. They can look up and down, side to side, or in circles. On the Xbox 360, this is done through the use of the analogue sticks (left stick to move, right to look). Also, like ''Halo 2, Halo 3 ''does not have a fall damage system, which means jumping from any height to land (with the exception of kill barriers) will not deal any damage to the player. Health System ''Halo 3 ''features a much more complicated health system than the previous two games. In ''Halo: Combat Evolved, the player had two layers; shields and health. This was represented by the shield bar in the top right corner of the screen, followed by the eight health bars below it. In Halo 2, the player had shields on their HUD that were smaller and died faster, but recharged faster, and was located ontop of the motion tracker. Their health was hidden, and recharged after the shields secretly, but was present. Halo 2's system is adopted in Halo 3, but with many complex variations. In Halo 3, the shield bar has now been spread across the top of the screen, and is now longer than the Halo: Combat Evolved ''version, but recharges just as fast as the ''Halo 2 ''version. Like in ''Halo 2, there is no visible health bar, but health in the game does exist. In the game, the player has 115 hit points; 45 health points, and 70 shield points. When a player's shield falls, their health then takes any following damage and after the health is removed, the player dies. If the player manages to avoid damage for 10 seconds while they are vulnerable, their health will begin to recharge at a rate of 9 points per second. However, health and shields are fully independent. A player's shields can recharge without the health following suit, which means that even if the player has full shields, they are not completely safe from death. The 'shield' symbol for identifying the player's shields is removed, as it seems pretty obvious which is the shields at this point. Just like previous games, when the shields are depleted, it will make a loud beeping sound, accompanied with red flashes until the shields recharge. When recharging, they make a loud 'whooooo' sound, and will continue to do so until fully recharged. Difficulty The four difficulty levels from the previous games return, and are largely unchanged. Legendary is also downplayed slightly, and is not as challenging as Halo 2's version. The presence of the skulls in the game replaces this, enhancing the difficulties themselves. There a four difficulties in Halo 3:Normal *Easy : "Laugh as helpless victims flee in terror from their inevitable slaughter. The game basically plays itself." *Normal : "Face firm resistance from competent, determined enemies, but burn through enough ammo and you will eventually triumph." *Heroic : "Fight against formidable foes that will truly test your skill and wits; this is the way Halo is meant to be played." *Legendary : "Tremble as teeming hordes of invincible alien monsters punish the slightest error with instant death...again and again." Enemies AI in Halo 3 ''is largely improved over that of its predecessors, using battle tactics more effectively, and reacting more rapidly in battle, making them smarter and harder to kill. The AI can also hijack vehicles and taunt the player just as they did in ''Halo 2. This is incorporated well into the game, along with a wider variety of enemy types and factions.Infection Form Three factions of enemies are encountered in the game: *'The Covenant Loyalists': The main antagonists of the game, and appear in every level except Floodgate, Cortana and Halo. A fraction of what the mighty Covenant Empire once was, and a direct result of the Civil War that occured in the Great Schism, the Loyalists are a band of the remaining species of the Covenant, this time led by the Brutes, not the Elites. In the game, six species exist, but only five are fought in combat, all of which appeared in previous games. These are: the Grunts, Jackals, Brutes, Hunters and Drones. The Covenant also now have a larger array of weapons, turrets and vehicles. *'The Flood': Returning from the previous games for the last time (chronologically) is the parasitic entity known as the Flood, whose significance has returned to Halo: Combat Evolved''s levels, and have evolved in terms of their predecessors. They first appear on the level Floodgate, and only appear, from there on, during the levels The Covenant, Cortana and Halo. The four usual types have returned: Infection Forms, Combat Forms (Human and Elite, along with the new addition of a Brute version), and the Carrier Form. New types include the Pure Forms; these come in three types: Stalker, Ranged and Tank Form. However, the Flood can no longer board vehicles (as there aren't any present when they are), and melee is now more effective, as, with sufficient force, will now explode when destroyed. You can now also watch the transformation of enemies; this can be observed when an infection form latches onto an enemy Brute (or allied marine) and burrows into their chest. Seconds later, you will have watched their transformation into a combat form. However, Elite Combat Forms no longer have shields. *'Sentinels': Mostly allies in the game, the Sentinels briefly become enemies at the end of the level Halo. Like ''Halo: Combat Evolved, there is only two variants; the standard Sentinel with no energy shields and the Shielded Sentinel with energy shields. Allies Unlike the enemy AI, the allied AI aid you in missions, fighting beside you and giving fire support. Although the AI isn't exactly the most intelligent (most of their actions are scripted), it still has its uses, especially on higher difficulties as a distraction or reinforcement. *'UNSC Marines': Just like in the previous games, you will have UNSC Marines fighting beside you on the field for the majority of the game. Marines appear in every level of the game except Cortana and Halo. While they can be useful during combat, especially when armed with rocket launchers, they become more and more useless on the higher difficulties. They are especially useless against the Flood, as can be observed on the levels Floodgate and The Covenant, as they do not perform well against them, and only serve to give the Flood more combat forms, if infection forms are present to infect them. Like in Halo 2, they can also drive vehicles, but while they are better at it than in the previous game, they are still considered 'poor drivers.' *'ODSTs': Orbital Drop Shock Troopers are a type of special forces unit first introduced in Halo 2, and now appear again in Halo 3. Also known as helljumpers, ODSTs are the special forces arm of the UNSC military, specializing in special operations, black operations, counter-terrorism, counter-contraband operations, etc. They gained their name to due to the preferred point of entry onto the battlefield; HEV pods dropped from orbit. In Halo 3 ''gameplay, their AI and overall performance is exactly the same as a standard marine, along with the same array of weapons available to those marines. The only difference is that instead of the standard armor, they wear a special variant called ODST armor, which is made specifically for their role. Compared to other games, the ODSTs played a marginalized role in the game, only appearing on the levels The Ark and The Covenant. *'Factory Workers': The Voi Factory Workers were not a faction of allies per se, rather a ragtag band of individuals who chose to defend their town from the Loyalist invasion. Armed with simple magnums and wearing no armor but their own hard hats, the factory workers appeared briefly during the Factory segment of the level The Storm, helping to fight off the Covenant forces in that area. They will help the player until the end of the level, where they are then never seen again. *'Swords of Sanghelios': As a result of the Great Schism and the gradual collapse of the Covenant, the Swords of Sanghelios, also known as the Separatists, are those who have learnt of the lies of the Prophets, and wish to seek vengeance for their betrayal. By the end events of the ''Halo 2, the Swords of Sanghelios have made a shaky alliance with humanity and, led by Thel 'Vadam, wage war on the remnants of the Covenant Loyalists. However, unlike in Halo 2 ''where the Separatists were comprised of Grunts and Hunters spearheaded by Elites, only allied Elites can be encountered in the game. As an extent, the Elites are no longer enemies in the game, and only appear as allies. They first appear on the level Floodgate, and after that, do not appear directly until the level The Covenant. After that, they do not appear during gameplay again. However, if Thel 'Vadam is to be counted, then the Separatists are technically found on almost every level. *'The Flood': ''Halo 3 ''marks the first and only time the Flood will appear during gameplay to aid the player. However, this only occurs once, and they are appear as enemies in every other level of the game. For a time, near the end of the level The Covenant when you have entered the Citadel, the Flood will appear, offering the help player defeat their "common foe." For the entire segment leading up to Truth's death, the Flood will then fight beside you against the surviving Loyalist troops. After this however (after Truth's death cutscene), they will return to being enemies. Weapons While the number of weapons in ''Halo 2 ''grew from that of ''Halo: Combat Evolved, this reached its apex in Halo 3 ''with even more new weapons, including ones cut from previous games, or ones from previous games brought back refined. The ability to dual-wield from ''Halo 2 ''has also been brought back, however the ability to dual-wield two Needlers, as well as pairing a Needler with another dual-wieldable weapon, has been restricted, as fanbase complaints from ''Halo 2 stated that such combinations made the player absurdly overpowered, allowing them to achieve supercombines quickly and effectively, making nigh unstoppable on the battlefield. Bungie listened, and removed the feature to balance Halo 3's gameplay. The Needler can still be used, it just can't be dual-wielded with any other weapon, especially with a second Needler. Human weapons are ballistic and use projectiles, meaning they are more effective against flesh and armor. Covenant weapons are usually plasma-based, but some new types are also projectile-based, much like human weapons. UNSC *M6G Personal Defense Weapon System (Dual-Wieldable) *MA5C Individual Combat Weapon System *M7/Caseless Submachine Gun (Dual-Wieldable) *BR55HB Service Rifle *M90A Close Assault Weapon System *Sniper Rifle System 99D-Series 2 Anti-Materiel *M41 Surface-to-Surface Rocket Medium Anti-Vehicle/Assault Weapon *M6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle *AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun (Detachable) *LAU-65D/SGM-151 (Detachable) (Only the portable form is found in multiplayer). *M7057 Defoliant Projector *M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose Fragmentation Grenade *M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun *M68 Asynchronous Linear-Induction Motor *GUA-23/A Heavy Autocannons *Class-2 Guided Munition Launch System *M512 Smooth Bore High Velocity Cannon *M247T Medium Machine Gun Turret Covenant : Usable *Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol (Dual-Wieldable) *Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle (Dual-Wieldable) *Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher *Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword *Type-26 Anti-Infantry Stationary Gun *Type-33 Light Anti-Armor Weapon *Type-52 Directed Energy Support Weapon *Type-50 Sniper Rifle System *Type-51 Carbine *Type-25 Carbine (Dual-Wieldable) *Type-52 Pistol (Dual-Wieldable) *Type-25 Grenade Launcher *Type-2 Energy Weapon/Hammer *Type-1 Antipersonnel Grenade *Type-2 Antipersonnel Fragmentation Grenade *Type-3 Antipersonnel/Antimateriel Incendiary Grenade *Variant Class-2 Energy Weapon System *Class-2 Projectile Cannon *Heavy Plasma Mortar *Light Plasma Cannon *35mm Autocannon : Unusable *Medium Focus Cannon *Heavy Plasma Cannon *Medium Plasma Autocannon *Assault Cannon Forerunner *Sentinel Beam Vehicles Vehicles in Halo 3 ''are much larger in variety than in previous games; given the new vehicles added, combined with all the vehicles from previous games, this creates quite a large set. Alot of the vehicles from ''Halo 2 ''make a reappearance, but not all, and some are even modified or changed to suit the new gameplay style and/or graphics engine. Some vehicles that were cut from ''Halo: Combat Evolved ''and especially those cut from ''Halo 2 appear in Halo 3, although not all. Also, vehicles retain their destructibility from Halo 2, with the exceptance of some for gameplay purposes. Also, some of the new vehicles are either undrivable, or not available in the campaign mode. UNSC : Drivable *M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle *M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle/Arctic Variant (Multiplayer only) *M12G1 Light Anti-Armor Vehicle *M831 Troop Transport *M274 Ultra-Light All-Terrain Vehicle *M808 Main Battle Tank *M808 Main Battle Tank/Arctic Variant (Multiplayer only) *M312 Heavy Recovery Vehicle (Multiplayer only) *AV-14 Attack VTOL *AV-14 Attack VTOL/Ambulance Variant (Multiplayer only) : Undrivable *D77H-TCI Pelican *D96-TCE Albatross (Scenery) *GA-TL1 Longsword-Class Interceptor *Tractor Unit (Scenery) *S-2 Traxus Cargo Transporter (Scenery) *Cart (Scenery) (Campaign only) Covenant : Drivable *Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle *Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft *Type-26 Assault Gun Carriage *Type-25 Rapid Assault Vehicle *Type-52 Infantry Support Vehicle : Undrivable *Type-31 Exoatmospheric Multi-Role Fighter *Type-47 Ultra Heavy Assault Platform *Type-52 Troop Carrier *Type-52 Anti-Aircraft Artillery